The 2018 NRL season kicks off this week, with plenty of familiar faces in unfamiliar colours. Everything you thought you knew about these teams goes out the window with so many key personnel changes. We give you all the information we can to help you wade through the tipping nightmare that is the opening round.

Verdict: If Ben Hunt were hoping to ease his way into his new multi-million-dollar job with the Dragons, then the NRL has done him no favours. Hunt has been thrown straight into the fire, facing his former team in front of a packed Jubillee Oval in the NRL season opener. Dragons fans are very passionate, and they will expect Hunt to prove himself against the Broncos -- a team with which they have had a fierce rivalry since the early 1990s. Coach Paul McGregor is running out of excuses for the Dragons, and he will be under enormous pressure to produce a win here against the old master Wayne Bennett.

Verdict: Newcastle coach Nathan Brown has the chance to unleash his newly built Knights machine against a Sea Eagles team that went nowhere in the recruitment department during the off-season. Lachlan Croker has replaced Blake Green in the halves next to Daly Cherry-Evans for Manly, and it will be interesting to see how they go against Mitchell Pearce and Connor Watson. Knights fans are expecting big things this year, but they may have to be patient as this well-established Sea Eagles team did finish a surprising sixth last year.

Verdict: The Cowboys host the Sharks in what should be one of the best clashes of the round. The Sharks have sharpened their backline teeth with the inclusion of Matt Moylan and Josh Dugan, but they come up against last year's grand finalists strengthened by the return of Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott. The Sharks should be exciting to watch, but we can't see Thurston letting this one slip in front of his home crowd.

Verdict: Both the Tigers and the Roosters welcome a State of Origin-winning half to their ranks this year. The Tigers have former Bulldogs livewire Josh Reynolds. while the Roosters have Cooper Cronk. Those two alone sum up perfectly this battle between the have nots and the have everythings. Aside from interest in the halves, this game is notable for Roosters fullback James Tedesco coming up against his old club for the first time. The Tigers would love nothing more than to prove to Tedesco that he should have stayed, but they will struggle against a club that was already very good before adding superstars Cronk and Tedesco.

Verdict: The Rabbitohs and Warriors open Saturday night's double header at Perth's new stadium, in what is a real lucky dip for NRL tippers. The Rabbitohs were inconsistent last year, but they are up against the team that wrote the book on inconsistency. The return of Greg Inglis is a huge lift for South Sydney and I think the Rabbitohs will win to impress their new coach -- unless the Warriors have found a fountain of motivation in the off-season; even then I still think the Rabbitohs will win.

Editor's Picks

The 2018 season is set to kick-off with some of the biggest changes in player line-ups seen in a long time. Darren Arthur assesses all 16 clubs' recruitment, rosters and aspirations for the year ahead.

Verdict: The second game of the double-header in Perth sees the Bulldogs up against the reigning premiers. Under new coach Dean Pay, the Bulldogs are promising a return to the old days of brutal physicality in the middle of the park accompanied by sparkling ball movement through the backs. Can they put all that together in the first game of the year against the team that defeated all-comers last year? I don't think so, but it should be an interesting game.

Verdict: The battle of the west sees the confused Panthers up against the prodigal son-led Eels. Much of the recent talk out of Penrith has centred on doubts over who is actually coaching the team, with Phil Gould seemingly crossing the line between desk jockey and clipboard holder. Anthony Griffin will be well aware that he has limited time to produce the goods now that troublesome half Matt Moylan has left and ultimate professional James Maloney has taken his place. How well the Eels perform will depend a lot on how well Jarryd Hayne slots into the team. Another intriguing clash.

Verdict: The opening round finishes with a fixture between two of 2017's more disappointing teams. The Titans have added genuine talent in Michael Gordan and Bryce Cartwright, and they received a morale boost when Ash Taylor decided to stay. New coach Garth Brennan needs to turn things around quickly, especially at home. Ricky Stuart is under enormous pressure to take the Raiders back to the finals. This one is a real toss of the coin.

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